The Department of Internal Medicine’s Diastole blog encourages residents like Sarah Lee, M.D., to use writing as a chance to reflect and build resiliency.

The patient lay in her hospital bed and stared into space, unable to make eye contact with the doctors who had come to help her.

Battling end-stage HIV/AIDS, the woman seemed unable to come to terms with her condition.

“I’m not sure if she could hear us, or if she was in denial and chose not to respond,” says Sarah Lee, M.D., a second-year resident in the Department of Internal Medicine. “It was frustrating and sad. That was my first year, and it was tough to deal with something like that so early on.”

Lucky for Lee, she had help. For the past two years, first-year residents have written reflective blog posts with the hopes of normalizing reflection and increasing resilience.

“That first year can be pretty jarring,” says Megan S. Lemay, M’11, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Internal Medicine. “It is overwhelming for the best of us. As they face extremely difficult tasks, we are teaching the residents skills in resilience so that they can keep themselves well.”

Diastole, the relaxation phase of the heartbeat, is the perfect name for the blogs, Lemay says.

“If the heart does not take time to relax and then fill up, blood won’t be pumped out,” she says. “In the same way, if you don’t take time to relax and reflect, you have nothing to give.”

Interns have reflected on a variety of assigned topics, including the role model whose traits they want to emulate and the challenges they face in treating patients with mental illness. When Lee and her classmates were asked to reflect on their lowest and highest day in haiku form, she shared her experience with the non-verbal patient by writing,She won’t look at me. Only nods and sighs out loud. Wonder what she feels.

Her haiku along with others from her fellow residents are featured in the latest issue of the Medical Literary Messenger, a web-based journal that strives to promote humanism and the healing arts through prose, poetry and photography.

“Sometimes it’s easier to try to forget a difficult experience,” Lee says. “But to share them, as well as your good ones, is healthy.”

Interns have also written about the embarrassment they feel when they make a mistake, the stresses of long hours and the sadness of losing a patient.

“They are identifying with each other and building empathy,” says Lemay, who is also an associate editor of the Messenger. “When they share their emotions the feedback they are getting is, ‘I didn’t realize anyone else felt that way.’”

The blogs are part of a larger resiliency program that includes monthly meetings and workshops that help interns cope with the demands of residency. Lemay oversees the blogs and meetings that are part of the overall resiliency curriculum created and run by Stephanie Call, M.D. M.S.P.H., program director, and Rebecca Miller, M.D., assistant professor.

“I don’t think people realize that taking the time to reflect on the challenges they face is normal,” Lemay says.

Lemay has been writing and publishing prose since she was a resident. When a patient she had been visiting throughout her first year passed away, she doubted her career choice.

“I wrote about it four months later as part of a workshop, and it lifted this burden from me,” she says. “It was extremely powerful.”

She hopes interns today experience similar benefits.

“I think 20 years ago the attitude was to suck it up,” Lee says. “But today, it’s OK to talk about what you are feeling. It’s great we can focus on our wellness too.”

Max Sirkin, M’12, and Col. Jason Hiles have invented the SHRAIL, a new system that helps improve care for soldiers injured in the field.

There are many qualities that make a good surgeon. According to surgeons themselves, one of those qualities is an innate desire to understand how something works and find ways to make it work better.

Surgeons, of course, apply that talent to the human body. But there are a few who seek additional outlets for that inner drive. That was the case for Max Sirkin, M’12, who has found a second calling as an inventor.

“Doing surgery is a dream job, but I had always wanted to do more,” Sirkin says. “I wanted to be an inventor, but all my ideas had been taken and research wasn’t for me.”

As he worked his way up to the rank of major in the U.S. Army, Sirkin began to speak with physicians and surgeons who had served overseas, sometimes in far-flung parts of the world. In those areas, taking care of soldiers can present challenges, they said. Sometimes, those challenges can be life-threatening.

Sirkin, who is also now an attending general surgeon at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, learned that the mobile medical equipment doctors rely on in more austere areas of operation can be very difficult to assemble and move. Sometimes, certain pieces of equipment are not compatible with other equipment or materials. When minutes and seconds count, equipment that is easy to use can make all the difference.

Therein lay Sirkin’s big idea.

Max Sirkin, M’12 (left) and Col. Jason Hiles demonstrate the SHRAIL.

“I had never deployed, but doctors who had saw a real problem,” Sirkin says. “There was a problem when surgeons were setting up in remote geographies, and it was a problem I thought I could fix.”

Sirkin and his inventing partner, Col. Jason Hiles, developed the SHRAIL (short for the Sirkin-Hiles Rail System), a system that affixes to a standard stretcher – or litter in Army parlance. A variety of devices, monitors and products can be easily attached to and removed from the rails, so that they are accessible even while the patient is on the move.

“We thought why don’t we start with the rails on the side of every OR table, which are all created with set dimensions?” Sirkin recalls. “We found a way to make a rail that attached to the litter and can snap into place. We designed it so an 18-year-old in a stressful situation could put it together.”

The design, which Sirkin and Hiles first conceived in 2014, allows for far more freedom and mobility than previous options.

“Other options are big and expensive and you have to use specific devices that match a specific system,” Sirkin says. “It can take people who really know what they are doing to set it up, and even then the patient often still needs to get from the point of injury to the mobile medical station.”

One of Sirkin’s mentors, who saw the SHRAIL when it was still its “back of the napkin” stage, says Sirkin has long had a drive to invent.

A soldier tests the SHRAIL in near Fort Bliss, Texas.

“He has always struck me as someone dedicated to surgery,” says Col. David Cox, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon and deputy corps chief for the Army Medical Corps. “This was the result of his curiosity. One thing surgeons like to do is fix problems. With the SHRAIL, Max saw a problem that needed solving, and he solved it.”

The SHRAIL was featured in May at the Smithsonian Institution’s Military Invention Day. More importantly, it has been deployed to an undisclosed location, where it was successfully used.

Sirkin said the SHRAIL could serve other purposes that are not necessarily military in nature, such as search-and-rescue or disaster relief operations.

“Everyone who has been in an austere environment and had to do a medical intervention understands,” Sirkin says. “You can set up an operating room with what you can carry in your backpack. That puts the doctor and the soldier one step closer to being back at home, where doctors have everything they need to help a patient, and that means more lives saved. The goal is to get people closer to home.”

The Class of 2022’s John Nestler paddled solo for 27 days through the Grand Canyon. Scroll below for more pictures from the incoming class.

A tropical disease researcher who can diagnose Chagas disease and remove parasites from cows. And her classmate who has first-hand experience with typhoid fever and malaria – but as a patient.

EMTs and emergency department scribes. A ballerina who bakes wedding cakes, and an R&D engineer who has patents pending on the next generation of razors.

Volunteers who have staffed an HIV food bank in Barbados, free clinics in Ghana, a traveling Peruvian medical mission and the Domestic Policy Council in the White House.

A student who’s the first in his family to graduate college, and a classmate who’s the third generation to come to our medical school.

Thrill seekers and wilderness explorers who’ve skydived from a plane and scuba dived to a shipwreck. A kayaker who paddled solo for 27 days through the Grand Canyon, and a marathoner who ran his race without training first.

A first-generation American who was born in Sweden. A wanderer who spent their childhood living in 25 different towns all over the U.S., and another who calls Virginia’s smallest town home.

A traveler who crossed the Saharan Dessert on camelback. Another who walked 465 miles with pilgrims from around the world to visit a shrine in Spain.

One rescues cats, another names his house plants.

Wakeboarding, horseback riding and the sport of fencing – they’ve competed in all three. A pair of avid sock collectors might turn it into a competition.

One student can say the alphabet backwards – really fast.

Another applied, not only to medical school, but also to the Food Network’s Chopped TV show. Instead of waiting for her casting call – she is here on the MCV Campus now!

Story by Erin Lucero

Click the images below for expanded views.

Saba Ali spent a month in Morocco and traveled across the country, including a trip across the Saharan Dessert on camelback.

James Barnes was a choral singer in college and performed with the renowned The King’s Singers and the Tallis Scholars.

Marnie Blalock (right) helped break the world record for the largest Santa run at the 2016 Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler in Virginia Beach.

Charlotte Crider went skydiving with her mother during her first month of college.

Amber Domako has visited over 20 national parks and lived in 10 cities, six states and two countries.

Maninderjit Ghotra battled pediatric cancer in the research lab of Anthony Faber, Ph.D., in VCU’s Institute of Molecular Medicine.

Elizabeth Kazarian was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and is the first in her family to become a U.S. citizen.

Jin Kim worked at Gillete as an R&D next generation product design engineer and has five design and utility patents pending.

Samuel Kraus walked the Camino Francés in from St Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Virang Ketan Kumar has visited 15 countries, including Iceland where he walked in the Kerið volcanic crater lake.

Shira Lanyi was a professional ballerina with the Richmond Ballet and the Israel Ballet prior to medical school.

Shahida Mizan can speak four languages fluently and introduces herself as “My name is Shahida rhymes with fajita.”

Zoe Moyer went skydiving in Switzerland when she was an Albright Institute fellow working at the World Health Organization.

John Nestler has completed many wilderness expeditions including a 27-day solo kayak trip through the Grand Canyon.

M.D.-Ph.D. student Audra Iness is the 2018-19 president of the American Physician Scientists Association.

“When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?”

It’s a question that begins in medical school admissions interviews and lasts throughout a physician’s career. Many can point to an influential moment — whether it’s a family member’s illness, an encouraging mentor or a desire to give back.

Audra Iness is no exception. At 15, she sat by her older brother’s bedside as he battled chronic pancreatitis, a diagnosis that kept him in and out of the hospital for the better part of a year. It wasn’t until his surgeons collaborated with researchers on a special surgery that he found relief.

And his sister found her calling — not only as a physician, but as a physician-scientist.

“I saw the interaction between the physicians and surgeons and the research lab,” Iness says. “Seeing it all come together was amazing. It transformed his life and our family’s life. That’s why I’m not only interested in the clinical side but also the research. I want to transform medicine as a whole.”

The VCU School of Medicine M.D.-Ph.D. student has already started, serving as a national leader among the next generation of physician-scientists. In July 2018, Iness began a one-year term as president of the American Physician Scientists Association, an organization led by trainees, for trainees. APSA strives to be the student physician-scientists’ leading voice for improving educational opportunities, advancing patient-oriented research and advocating for the future of translational medicine.

“Audra is a remarkable individual who deeply cares about the future of clinical research in the U.S. and does everything she can to advance the pipeline of physician-scientists,” says Michael Donnenberg, M.D., senior associate dean for research and research training.

As APSA president, Iness promotes key initiatives including mentorship and establishing an international consortium of physician-scientist trainee organizations. She recently returned from a conference in Canada and regularly speaks with M.D.-Ph.D. students across the globe about the challenges they face and ways to learn from one another.

Strong peer relationships are especially critical for M.D.-Ph.D. students who spend an average of eight years earning their dual-degree. At VCU, their medical education begins with two years of preclinical, followed by three to five years of graduate studies, and then back to the M.D. program for two clinical years.

“The training path is long and challenging so it’s helpful to have the peer support as students and later as peers in our professional lives,” says Iness, who is in the final semester of the graduate phase of the program. “Starting to establish those relationships now is extremely valuable.”

In December 2018, Audra Iness will earn her Ph.D. in cancer and molecular medicine. Then she’ll begin clinical rotations and complete her remaining two years of medical school.

Iness joined the national APSA chapter when she entered medical school in 2013 and later resurrected VCU’s APSA chapter. She also founded Advocates for M.D.-Ph.D. Women at VCU to address the underrepresentation of women in the field.

“While the gap has closed for women in medical school — more females enrolled in medical schools in 2017 than males — that’s not the case for physician-scientists, where only about 30 to 40 percent of trainees are female,” Iness says. “We want to find out why and support the women who are here.”

Support throughout the VCU community is what brought Iness to the MCV Campus from her home state of California. “Accessibility to my advisor is huge,” Iness says. “I know who to go to and they’re happy to talk to me. The faculty here has made such a difference and encouraged me to be in national leadership positions.”

“We fully fund all our M.D.-Ph.D. students — many schools can’t claim that,” Donnenberg says. “It’s important to make that commitment to our students. This wonderful gift from Ken Wright allows us to attract even more students who share an equal passion for patient care and for science and research.”

In December, Iness will earn her Ph.D. in cancer and molecular medicine. She’s spent the last four years working in the lab of Larisa Litovchick, M.D., Ph.D. Her thesis project is focused on B-Myb, a recognized oncoprotein known for its role in cell cycle gene regulation.

High B-Myb levels are associated with a poor prognosis in many cancers, yet its role in ovarian cancer is not well understood. Iness’ research, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant, could help identify predictive markers and therapeutic targets for treatment of ovarian cancer.

Now she’s eager to apply what she’s learned in the lab when she returns to the medical school and begins clinical rotations in January.

“That’s what excites me the most — to see everything fall into place,” Iness says. “I’ve had a vision of working at the border between science and medicine, and seeing through patients what needs to be addressed in the research lab. Now I can take what I’ve learned in the lab and apply it in the clinic and see what happens. That back-and-forth is really the power of dual-degree training.”

The Class of 2021’s Justin Chang participated in the NIH Summer Internship Program studying a common cause of blindness.

Three years ago, the Class of 2021’s Justin Chang began working in the National Institutes of Health laboratory of Kapil Bharti, Ph.D., a Stadtman investigator at the National Eye Institute. They were trying to solve a tricky problem: proliferative vitreoretinopathy, or PVR, a growth of scar tissue that causes the detachment of the retina — and, for many, blindness.

It happens to between 5 percent and 10 percent of every person who undergoes retinal reattachment surgery. The only way now to treat PVR is another surgery, but that can be unsuccessful if it leads to more scar tissue growth behind the eye, a return of the original problem that causes the retina to detach again weeks or months later.

With a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a master’s degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, Chang wanted to learn more about medical research and applied for the job in Bharti’s lab in 2015, before starting medical school last fall.

This summer, Chang returned as a member of the NIH Summer Internship Program to complete his research in PVR.

“This disease happens when there’s a puncture to the eye, or a retinal detachment,” Chang explains. A considerable number of current PVR patients are members of the military who have experienced battlefield injuries. Shrapnel or other debris can cause an eye injury, or even the shock of a blast may detach the retina, Bharti says.

Bharti’s lab focuses on pharmaceutical treatments that could prevent the destructive growth of diseased retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE, cells. While healthy RPE cells protect the retina’s photoreceptors, their unchecked growth can lead to PVR. “We’re interested in how these cells divide, proliferate,” Bharti says, “and how to prevent it.”

Chang spent two years as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the Bethesda, Maryland, lab, conducting tests to see which medications repress or encourage growth of RPE cells.

Because PVR occurs so often among veterans, the Department of Defense has placed a high priority on its research, Bharti says. A medication that already has been approved by the FDA to treat metastatic cancers appears promising in the RPE study, he adds, and may be able to treat PVR and age-related macular degeneration.

Chang moved from Taiwan to Montgomery County, Maryland, when he was 14, and his father is an internal medicine physician who practices in Taiwan. Still, eye research wasn’t on his radar until he began working in Bharti’s lab.

“I was surprised by how complicated the eye is and how many diseases I didn’t know about,” Chang says. “Initially, I didn’t look at eye research when I got my master’s.” In addition to his lab work, he had the opportunity to shadow ophthalmologists in the NIH’s pediatric eye clinic and see firsthand some unusual conditions, including a type of juvenile macular degeneration and coloboma, in which a part of the eye is missing at birth.

As he returns to the MCV Campus to begin his second year, Chang says he especially appreciates his classmates. “They’re always willing to help you. We study together, have fun together.” He is still deciding on what specialty he’d like to pursue, although ophthalmology is now definitely in the running.

Bharti calls Chang a “very capable person. Not everyone is at the same level as Justin. If he wants to come back next summer, we’d love to have him.”

Katie Schwienteck set a goal several years ago to one day attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany.

“I had heard how wonderful it was,” she says. “I thought it would be an awesome experience. As it turns out, it most definitely was.”

A Ph.D. candidate in the medical school’s Pharmacology and Toxicology Department who’s already earned an advanced degree from the School of Pharmacy, Schwienteck, Pharm.D., was one of two students from the School of Medicine to be selected to attend this year’s event. Dedicated to physiology and medicine, the 68th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting was held in June.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says M.D.-Ph.D. student Chelsea Cockburn, who also was selected to attend. “Just to meet all the laureates and hear their stories was incredible.”

Schwienteck and Cockburn were among 600 international students from 84 countries. Only 30 were from the U.S.

“I think that speaks highly of our graduate trainees,” says Mike Grotewiel, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate education in the School of Medicine. “There is no other gathering that comes close to this one, so this is extremely special for these students. We are very proud of them.”

The annual summer meeting gathered an all-time record 43 Nobel Laureates. They presented lectures on their scientific research, broke into smaller groups to discuss topics such as science diplomacy and careers in biomedical research and took students on “science walks” for more casual conversations.

“These Laureates are considered celebrities,” Cockburn says. “What was wonderful is how normal they really are and how willing they are to sit down with young scientists.”

Cockburn took a science walk with Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman, Ph.D., and the two discussed publishing scientific research. He stressed the importance of the quality of the research, not the size and prestige of a particular journal.

“It was really cool to get his perspective,” Cockburn says. “It should all be about the quality of your work, about good science.”

Cockburn, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from James Madison University, is on track to complete her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology along with her M.D. in 2021. She plans to focus her career on infectious diseases and global health.

“Going to Germany really rejuvenated me,” she says. “As great as it was meeting the Laureates, getting to meet other young scientists from around the world was also invaluable. These people will be my future colleagues. They already are becoming my friends.”

Students exchanged ideas and discussed how medicine is practiced in their home country. They brainstormed solutions to roadblocks they face in their own research.

“You need diverse backgrounds, ideas and thought processes to produce the best science,” Cockburn says. “I think we sometimes forget that because we get caught up in our own bubble. But collaboration is so important.”

Schwienteck, who holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh, also bonded with other young scientists while in Germany.

“There are so many dedicated people out there doing remarkable work,” she says. “It’s not just about what I’m doing.”

Schwienteck’s research is focused on studying potential treatments for opioid substance use disorder in the lab of Matthew Banks, Ph.D. Her science walk with Nobel Laureate Robert Lefkowitz, M.D., was perfect timing.

“I’m studying drugs that he helped develop,” she says. “That was pretty cool. He offered me very good advice related to career planning.”

Because of that advice, Schwienteck now plans to pursue a post-doctorate after completing her Ph.D. next year.

“Never be afraid to take risks because it is OK to fail,” she says. “It was so reassuring to hear how even Nobel Prize winners faced their own failures along the way.”

The key is to never stop trying.

“One common theme at the meeting was to never make winning a Nobel Prize the goal of your career,” Cockburn says. “Do what you love that will benefit humanity. That is more important than any award.”

M2 Sarah Andrew (back row, fourth from right) participated in a one-week, immersive Summer Institute for Medical Students at the Hazelden Betty Ford Center in California.

Shadowing physicians is common practice for pre-med and medical students as a means to learn more about the medical field. Shadowing patients, on the other hand, introduces a unique perspective all its own.

The Class of 2021’s Sarah Andrew discovered its impact when she participated in the one-week, immersive Summer Institute for Medical Students at the Hazelden Betty Ford Center, the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider.

At the center’s Rancho Mirage, California, location, Andrew and other medical students shadowed patients undergoing treatment for addiction, gaining an inside look at the dynamics of addiction and the process of healing from the patient perspective.

“This was the first time I was immersed in the patients’ recovery process,” Andrew says. “I shared my thoughts and emotions and reflected on lectures just like the women receiving treatment. Because I participated in the patients’ support groups and debrief sessions throughout the day, I felt that some of the customary physician-patient barriers were overcome. I learned much more from these women about how their addiction negatively affected their lives and how they were really doing in the recovery process.”

Each medical student was assigned to a specific patient treatment group and followed much of the group’s daily schedule: morning lecture and debrief on one of the steps in the recovery process, a counselor-led support group session, and lunch. Andrew was paired with an inpatient women’s treatment group of mostly middle-age women struggling with alcoholism and sometimes other drugs.

M2 Sarah Andrew (second from left) and other medical school internship participants found time to unwind and reflect on a sunrise hike in Palm Springs, California.

“I found the support groups to be incredibly powerful,” she says. “I felt honored to have even been able to hear some of the women’s stories and to participate in a portion of their recovery process. I learned so much about how addiction takes a toll on people’s lives and the importance of separating the person from the disease.”

This is a skill the future physician says she will carry with her as she interacts with patients and their families.

“Regardless of what field I specialize in, there will be patients or their family or friends who are struggling with addiction or in their recovery process. I hope that through this program, I will be able to approach these people with a bit more understanding and compassion, and that I will be able to provide resources and tools to aid them in their recovery process.”

The internship also included opportunities for classroom instruction, clinical observation and lectures on topics including the bio-psycho-social-spiritual aspects of addiction, evidence-based and holistic approaches to care, and 12-step recovery principles and practices.

Like many of the medical students who participated in the internship program, Andrew is no stranger to addiction. Her family has a history of alcoholism and she’s seen the opioid epidemic take the lives of former high school classmates.

“While I’d been exposed to the reality of addiction prior to my internship, the Hazelden Betty Ford Center truly enhanced my understanding of the complexity of the disease and the significant impact it can have on individuals struggling with the disease,” she says. “It is my hope that I will be able to apply this knowledge to care for and support my patients, colleagues, friends and family members in the years to come.”

Through his research, the Class of 2021’s Paulius Mui hopes to capture what happens to patients when a rural physician leaves the community and use their perspective to inform policy and recruit physicians to low-population areas.

If you’re from a small town, you may have a family doctor who has been present at the most important moments of your life: birth, serious illness, a child’s broken arm, a parent’s death. So, what happens to patients when that doctor retires or moves?

That’s what the Class of 2021’s Paulius Mui is trying to uncover. Entering his second year as an fmSTAT student at the VCU School of Medicine this fall, Mui has spent considerable time driving to small localities in southwestern and eastern Virginia that have lost their primary care physicians, interviewing residents about the personal impact of these losses. Earlier studies have examined the doctors’ side of the issue, but Mui says there has been very little research into patients’ viewpoints.

“Some people are losing their best friend in that regard,” Mui says. “A rural physician really ties a community together.” His idea is to capture people’s perspectives and use them to inform policy decisions to attract and retain primary care physicians to low-population, sometimes isolated, places.

Mui’s project is funded by a microresearch grant from the Collaborative for Rural Primary care, Research, Education and Practice (Rural PREP), and he hopes to expand the interviews beyond Virginia with the help of other medical students he’s working to recruit across the country.

Born in Russia and raised in Vilnius, Lithuania, Mui moved to the Chicago suburbs with his mother when he was 14, and attended college at Boston University — so he’s never lived in a small town himself. Mui calls family medicine “the coolest specialty there is. You get to know a little bit about everything. It allows you to take care of anyone who walks in your door.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2013, Mui worked in administrative positions at the National Brain Tumor Society and the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care. The fmSTAT program is the main reason he decided to apply to VCU for medical school, Mui says.

In 2012, the School of Medicine started the Family Medicine Scholars Training and Admission Tract — or fmSTAT — as a dual-admission program for students certain of their goal to become family physicians. In an effort to attract and retain students, the fmSTAT Scholarship Fund aims to build an endowment to provide future fmScholars the equivalent of one year’s tuition.

Mui’s line of study could have national implications, says Department Chair Anton Kuzel, M.D., M.H.P.E. Family medicine was VCU’s most popular specialty among 2018 medical school graduates, but that isn’t necessarily the case across the country.

VCU’s fmSTAT program and International/Inner City/Rural Preceptorship, which trains doctors for underserved areas in urban, rural and international locations, are somewhat unusual in the field, Kuzel says, and draw students like Mui who “by and large see medicine as a calling.”

Kuzel calls Mui’s project “by far the most ambitious” student study in his experience. Making connections with community leaders first is important in gaining other residents’ trust, which can be a lengthy process, Kuzel adds.

In June, Mui presented his early findings to a group of leaders from the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health and Rural PREP, who were very encouraging and offered to advise him in the future.

“It was really an incredible opportunity for me to get guidance in very targeted ways to make this project more successful,” Mui says, and he feels he’s already succeeded in his personal objective to “put myself out there and leave my comfort zone.”

Despite Mui’s strong interest in local care, Kuzel predicts his student will one day go on to make a national impact: “His gaze is much bigger than that.”

Sally Santen, M.D., Ph.D., senior associate dean for assessment, evaluation and scholarship, will lead the evaluation of the Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium initiative through a contract with the American Medical Association. While at the University of Michigan Medical School, she was the co-principal investigator on a $1.1 million grant to transform the medical student curriculum starting for five years. As the grant evaluator, Santen will work with the AMA team to determine outcomes and publish the findings.

Given the volume involved, as well as an overarching focus on the structure and movement of the body, it is easy to understand orthopaedists’ affinity for the more mechanical aspects of their work.

At VCU School of Medicine, one prospective orthopaedic surgeon is making a concerted effort to look beyond those mechanics. Through his research and his projects away from the laboratory, the Class of 2019’s Mark Feger, Ph.D., aspires to serve the full human being, not just the parts made of muscle, cartilage and bone.

“Orthopaedic surgeons help people do the things they love,” Feger says. “That means going for a walk or a run, spending time with their families, or going back to their job. We help people maintain their function and do the things they enjoy doing.”

Feger also doesn’t seem to have a problem with big workloads. He has built a solid reputation for research and scholarship, and has the accolades to prove it. As he works toward an M.D. degree to add to his Ph.D., Feger recently accepted the National Athletic Trainers Association’s Perrin Doctoral Dissertation Award, which recognizes outstanding doctoral student research in athletic training and health care.

Feger’s dissertation research at the University of Virginia centered on the ankle, specifically its increased vulnerability to repetitive sprain after it sustains an initial sprain. Feger improved function in study participants with novel rehabilitation strategies and a new device to help improve gait.

“We studied self-reported outcomes, muscle size and function, and gait and jump-landing mechanics before and after rehabilitation,” Feger explained. “We looked at what we could do from a rehab standpoint to target their specific impairments and we implemented a four-week comprehensive rehabilitation and gait training program to improve self-reported function and functional capacity.”

On VCU’s MCV Campus, Feger has distinguished himself with the Edith E. and Hugo R. Seibel Award for Excellence in Gross Anatomy — something that’s particularly meaningful to prospective orthopaedists, given their wide-angle focus on the body.

“I have a background in sports medicine and athletic training, and have taken cadaver labs before,” Feger says. “I think the only way to really learn and understand orthopaedic anatomy and function is to use your hands. It helps you visualize and appreciate important anatomic relationships.”

The award carries the names of Hugo Seibel, Ph.D., and his wife. Seibel retired in 2004 as the associate dean of student activities and professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology after 35 years on the MCV Campus.

Research is just one part of Feger’s resume. He has also made a commitment to people.

“He has a quiet confidence and humble air that is one of the hallmarks of a leader,” said Associate Professor Gregory Golladay, M.D., who holds the Allison D. and J. Abbott Byrd III Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery and is one of Feger’s mentors. “His preparation for clinical encounters and OR procedures is thorough and flawless. He is naturally inquisitive, thoughtful and attentive. He accepts feedback and has diligent self-study. He is caring and makes easy rapport with patients.”

As part of his regular activities, Feger spends time with children who have serious illnesses, such as cancer, through VCU’s SMILE Program (Students Making it a Little Easier).

“Medical students pair up with kids undergoing various treatments at VCU,” Feger says. “Pediatric patients don’t necessarily look forward to coming to the hospital, but if they get to play games, talk, and do science projects with us, it might help take their mind off the treatments they are here to receive.”

Alongside his accomplishments, what sets Feger apart is the humanity he sees beyond the flesh and bone.

“I know what I want to do in the future, and that’s take care of patients,” Feger says. “It means a lot to me to get someone moving again, and get them back to living their life.”

Young girls take a closer look at different organs in formaldehyde as part of Women in Science’s Girl Scout Science Fun Day. The event aims to expose participants to the world of science and possible careers in the field.

Girls of all ages embraced their scientific potential as graduate student organization Women in Science hosted its 12th annual Girl Scout Science Fun Day in April. Approximately 115 girls in the Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth region came to the MCV Campus to participate in a day filled with live demonstrations and hands-on experiments.

“This event allows girls to get a chance to see what’s out there in the world of science and what careers are available,” says Tanya Puccio, WIS president who is pursuing her Ph.D. in Oral Health Research. “WIS wants them to know that they can do anything they set their mind to.”

The Girl Scouts, ages 8 to 14, broke into small groups and rotated through 10 different stations, exposing them to knowledge in pathology and neurosciences, clinical lab, biomedical engineering, dentistry, nursing and forensic sciences.

Girls could be heard talking to each other as they walked between the different events, loudly proclaiming, “I want to be a gynecologist” or “I can’t decide between engineering or chemistry.”

WIS’s mission is to support and promote women students and trainee development in their career fields and to build a community where women can develop their leadership skills, visibility and academic success.

Female volunteers from the Department of Pathology and NeuroNerds, a student organization for scientists interested in neurology, led three of the day’s stations: Intro to Pathology, How the Brain Works and Becoming a Neurologist — A Medical SuperSleuth. Girls built brain caps and pipe cleaner dendrite models, and saw different organs kept in formaldehyde to learn about tumors and diseases, and how pathology works to find their cures.

“It’s so important for young girls to gain a stronger foundation in the sciences because science is so intrinsic to our lives,” says Megan Sayyad, NeuroNerds president and a student in the School of Medicine’s neuroscience doctoral program.

After the station rotations and lunch, the Girl Scouts watched WIS skits detailing the lives of historical women scientists, titled “Women in Science: Portraits of Courage” and performed by Chantal Ing and Stephanie Gianturco, current doctoral students in the Department of Pharmacy.

With the continuing growth of the program, several of the volunteers hope to take part in the event next year and show the next generation the benefits of STEM studies and encourage them to follow science-related careers.

“It’s empowering to talk to the girls and give them information we didn’t have as kids. It’s fun to share these stories,” says Sarah Thomas, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Pathology and program volunteer. “I hope that we can spark any interest they have in science and they can see us as women in these roles and know they can do it, too.”

Fiscal year 2018 marks the best fundraising year of the campaign so far, with $105.6 million raised to date. The university’s fiscal year ended June 30.

“I could not be more grateful for the generous support of our alumni and friends who helped us reach this milestone,” says Dean of Medicine Peter F. Buckley, M.D. “They are leading the way in defining the future of medicine on the MCV Campus. Gifts to the School of Medicine are vital to sustaining our core values of cultivating a life-changing learning experience for students and trainees, exceptional care for the sick, and a curiosity for medical research and discovery.”

The campaign, which began with a quiet phase in July 2012 and launched publicly in September 2016, is the largest fundraising effort in the university’s history. It counts all funds raised through June 30, 2020.

“The School of Medicine has hit our fundraising goal for this fiscal year — putting us at nearly 75 percent of the school’s $300 million campaign goal and paving the way for a strong finish in 2020,” says Thomas Maness, M.P.A., associate dean for development and alumni affairs in the medical school. “It simply wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated alumni and friends who are committed to advancing the school they hold dear.”

The 1838 Campaign is the cornerstone of the medical school’s fundraising efforts that aims to build the school’s scholarship endowment into a resource on par with its peer schools. An expanded endowment will provide a competitive edge for recruiting top students, rewarding student excellence and reducing the burden of debt that is too often an inescapable part of choosing a career in medicine.

Thanks to the support of alumni and friends, 21 new medical student scholarships already have been established during the 1838 Campaign. An additional nine will be awarded this fall, and 16 more are currently in the works. Another 46 existing scholarship funds have increased in size with the addition of new gifts.

“My scholarship alleviates some of the financial burden, but most importantly, it allows me to continue to follow my dream, choosing my career specialty based on the relationships I can create and the difference I can make, rather than based off the student debt I will accrue,” says the Class of 2019’s Jessica Mace, 1838 Fund scholarship recipient.

Of the $105.6 million the university raised this fiscal year, $38.9 million came from alumni — including 1,789 first-time alumni donors — an increase of 80.4 percent in the committed revenue raised during the same time last year.

“The legacy of these alumni extends beyond their careers and patients,” Maness says, “and empowers the next generation of physicians who will embody the values and traditions of the MCV Campus.”

Stacey S. Cofield, PhD’03 (BIOS), proudly displays these words in her office at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. An associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics, she draws inspiration every day from the advice given her by her mentor, Al M. Best, PhD’84 (BIOS), more than 15 years ago.

“He was very clear in his approach in the classroom,” Cofield says. “He always believed in telling the story – in showing students why the data matters in the real world.”

Her students approve. Cofield was awarded the 2018 UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for the School of Public Health at UAB in April. The award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching.

“One of the reasons that I have this honor is because of Dr. Best,” Cofield says. “He taught me so much. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”

To honor the influence he had on her life, Cofield is using her teaching award as an opportunity to establish a scholarship in Best’s name. The Dr. Al M. Best Biostatistics Teaching Award will support a biostatistics student interested in teaching. The annual award will provide about $1,500 toward books, tuition and travel for conferences. Some of those funds were raised when Cofield auctioned off the parking spot she won as part of the President’s award.

“On the face of it, it’s astonishing that a biostatistics professor would receive a teaching award because of the reputation biostatistics has as dry and boring,” says Best, VCU’s director of Faculty Research Development in the School of Dentistry and affiliate professor in the medical school’s Department of Biostatistics. “That Stacey would pull this off, however, is not. She connects with students in real ways.”

Cofield, who grew up in Minnesota, graduated from Washington and Lee in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and mathematics. She enrolled in VCU’s certificate program in statistics, then moved into the master’s program. Before she completed it, she went all in by transferring into the doctorate program in biostatistics.

Associate professor Al M. Best, PhD’84 (BIOS)

“I liked him immediately,” she says. “Instead of just teaching statistics, which can be very unexciting, he applied it to everyday life. We were in the classroom solving problems.”

She served as Best’s teaching assistant for three years and watched in amazement as he helped shape students.

“I remember watching these students go from resenting the fact that they had to be there to engaging in the problem at hand,” Cofield says. “It changed my trajectory.”

Instead of pursuing a career as a research biostatistician in sports medicine as she had planned, she joined the UAB faculty. She also has been involved in numerous research projects, focusing on combination therapies for multiple sclerosis and clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis. She is currently involved in a study examining whether people taking certain medications are more prone to developing shingles after receiving the shingles vaccine.

“I absolutely love what I do,” Cofield says. “Whether it’s working in research or with my students, I enjoy helping people define what it is they need to know and using biostatistics to help them reach their goals.”

Darrell Griffith, M.P.H., CMPE, has been appointed by the Association of American Medical Colleges to the steering committee of the Group on Business Affairs. He will serve as principal business officer-at-large on the committee that advances administrative and fiscal management in academic medical institutions to support medical education, research and health care. His term began at the GBA’s annual spring meeting, April 17-20, 2018, in Portland, Oregon, and he attended the GBA’s inaugural steering committee meeting in Washington, D.C., June 21-22, 2018.

Griffith is the VCU School of Medicine’s senior associate dean of finance and administration as well as executive director of MCV Physicians, serving on several health system and university committees and initiatives. He joined the MCV Campus in July 2016 having previously served at University of Louisville Health Sciences as associate vice president for administration and finance, the University of Kentucky (UK Healthcare and College of Medicine) and at University of Tennessee College of Medicine at Erlanger Health System Chattanooga.

“We are proud to see Darrell take this leadership role,” says Peter F. Buckley, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. I know he’ll be a tremendous asset to the GBA as they navigate the complex issues facing academic medicine today.”

Griffith is a certified medical practice executive and a member of several professional organizations, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association, MGMA and the Academic Practice Plan Directors Association and AAMC Group on Faculty Practice.

According to nursing leaders, Curtis N. Sessler, M.D., F’85, was ahead of his time in fostering an environment where physicians, nurses and other members of the care team work together.

Sessler, the Orhan Muren Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine in the VCU Department of Internal Medicine, has earned a national reputation for helping patients in the ICU, conducting groundbreaking research and working with several organizations to improve care delivery.

“It is pretty unusual for a physician to receive an award from a nursing association,” says Sessler, who also serves as the medical director of critical care and the medical respiratory intensive care unit with VCU Health. “Over three decades of ICU patient care, I’ve had the pleasure of working hand in hand with ICU nurses. That has been a big part of my career. The accomplishment is the positive impact we’ve had on patient outcomes and healthcare professional well-being.”

According to AACN leaders, Sessler was ahead of his time in health care delivery, fostering an environment in which physicians, nurses and other members of the care team work together more readily than they had in the past.

“Curt Sessler personifies AACN’s healthy work environment standard of true collaboration,” says AACN Chief Clinical Officer Connie Barden, M.S.N., R.N. “Long before teamwork and collaboration were the norm, Curt worked with colleagues from many disciplines to conduct research on the best approaches to care for critically ill patients.”

Each member of the care team fills an indispensible role. Early in his career, Sessler learned to respect each role and, in turn, build a more complete picture of each patient and his or her needs.

“Nurses spend hours and hours with patients and their families—that’s unique on the team,” Sessler says. “It’s important to bring different skill sets, and that voices are heard from all members of the team.”

Although the ICU is his primary workplace, Sessler’s influence is widely felt, and in many cases nurses served as key partners.

In research, Sessler undertook a number of investigations with counterparts in the VCU School of Nursing, specifically AACN leaders Cindy Munro, Ph.D., R.N., now dean of the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, and Mary Jo Grap, Ph.D., R.N., who retired in 2015 after a stellar research career. Perhaps their most important breakthrough was the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale or RASS, a tool that measures agitation and level of responsiveness in hospitalized patients.

“We had a tremendous research partnership, tackling important causes of infections as well as how best to provide comfort and sedation in the ICU,” Sessler says. “The RASS is probably the most used scale of its kind in the world now.”

Sessler also has served in leadership roles for influential health care organizations. This includes serving as president of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and working with the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC), which links AACN, CHEST, the American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine.

“The work with CCSC has been especially satisfying as it emphasizes the importance of collaboration at a national level,” Sessler said.

Sessler’s imprint on critical care is clear, and his commitment to collaboration is a big driver of that success—and his latest accolade.

“The thing that I hold close is a strong belief in the power of a team,” Sessler says. “If everyone is pulling together in the same direction, we can get a lot done.”

By Scott Harris

]]>From flakka to opioids: PharmTox alumna’s front-row seat to nation’s drug epidemichttp://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/2018/06/from-flakka-to-opioids-pharmtox-alumnas-front-row-seat-to-nations-drug-epidemic/
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 18:35:39 +0000http://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/?p=4229Continue reading →]]>When Teri Stockham, PhD’87 (PHTX), left the MCV Campus, she worked as a forensic toxicologist for Richmond and New York City before becoming one of the nation’s youngest chief toxicologists in Broward County, Florida, in 1991.

Teri Stockham, PhD’87 (PHTX), returned to VCU to speak with students about the ever-changing landscape of novel psychoactive substances and the challenges they present to law enforcement, the medical community and forensic toxicologists.

The move put her at the heart of the nation’s drug epidemic. “Broward County was the epicenter of the Flakka epidemic and was the pill mill capital of the country when the opioid epidemic first started,” says Stockham, who for the last 20 years has owned a forensic toxicology consulting business now based in Parkland, Florida.

During her tenure in Broward County, Stockham has seen the rise of synthetic drugs like flakka, a potent street drug whose high starts as fleeting euphoria but rapidly evolves into paranoia, rage and delirium. This recent round of synthetic drugs — chemical compounds illegally made to mimic the effect of known drugs but with a different chemical profile that evades detection and regulation — got their start in the early 2000s with synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as spice.

“Everything I learned about cannabinoids, I learned from Dr. Billy Martin on the MCV Campus,” says Stockham, referring to the former chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology who had an international reputation in the field.

Synthetic production and its resulting variations changed the game. “It becomes quite the nightmare in the laboratory,” Stockham says. “Standard tests don’t pick up the chemicals. Once we do figure it out, regulate it and create tests to identify it, drug dealers just switch up the chemicals.”

Then it’s back to the lab to create another battery of tests and the cycle begins again. In a spring lecture to forensic toxicology students in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, Stockham spoke of “the shell game of addictive drugs.”

The popularity of synthetic drugs also took off in part because of the Internet, where online dealers could sell drugs from foreign countries where chemicals weren’t as tightly regulated as the U.S.

Yet the good news is that legislation does work. Stockham credits physician-monitoring programs in part with cracking down on illegal pill mills. In addition, the Chinese government banned 140 chemicals after meeting with Broward County officials in 2015.

But it’s a race between the drugs on the streets and what’s known to law enforcement, the medical community and forensic toxicologists. “We’re always a couple of years behind,” Stockham says.

The reasons vary, she continues. The new drugs aren’t yet in institutional databases; no analytical standards are available; and development and validation of the drug tests are time-consuming. “There’s no standard way of testing for synthetics at this point and no field tests.”

That’s why Stockham encouraged the students to enter the forensic toxicology field, spark new ideas and make a difference. She is doing her part to ensure the best and brightest students stay on the forensic toxicology path. In 2017, she endowed a scholarship to support graduate students in the Department of Forensic Science.

“I made it through 10 years of education through scholarships and working – no loans or family assistance,” Stockham says. “I feel blessed to be in this position at this time in my life and wanted to give back.”

Stockham carries fond memories of her time on the MCV Campus, where she says she immediately felt at home. In the 1980s, forensic science programs were still housed in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Downtown Richmond’s charm, from the historic buildings to the museums, along with friendly faculty, made Stockham’s decision an easy one. She accepted her admissions offer the same day as her first campus visit — and canceled a scheduled interview with another university.

“I knew when I walked on campus that this was it.”

By Polly Roberts

]]>The Class of 2019’s Joanne Chiao: Art class with dementia patients shines new light on patient experiencehttp://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/2018/06/the-class-of-2019s-joanne-chiao-art-class-with-dementia-patients-shines-new-light-on-patient-experience/
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 18:22:47 +0000http://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/?p=4232Continue reading →]]>After completing a third-year wellness workshop with Art for the Journey, the Class of 2019’s Joanne Chiao was inspired to volunteer with the nonprofit dedicated to bringing art to non-traditional groups. The dual degree M.D./M.H.A. candidate wrote about her experience for the Association of American Medical Colleges. In her own words:

Silver or gold?

“Silver or gold?” I ask, showing two paint palettes.

Over the past year, the Class of 2019’s Joanne Chiao spent her Friday mornings volunteering at a local retirement community where she served as a painting partner for adults with early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia. Pictured is one of her adult artist’s creations.

“Silver,” she replies. I place the palette on the table. The artist takes a crumpled ball of foil and dips it into the silver paint. She then presses the foil ball against her canvas creating texture, contrast and depth. At times, the foil ball goes off the page, as if she loses sight of the edge of the canvas. I guide her back to center. When she completes her painting, I ask her, “What would you like to call it?”

“I don’t know,” she says, “What do you think I should call it?” I tell her that it is her artwork. It could be any name. It is abstract art after all.

“How about ‘A Starry Night’?”

“That’s perfect! It reflects the silver texture with the foil paint, the contrast against the darker water-colored background, and the glitter dashed across the page.”

“Well, I meant to do that … that … was what I was thinking.” She takes the pencil in her hand but as she presses pencil to paper, she pauses.

“What was I supposed to do?”

“You are naming your piece and signing your name,” I reply. “Oh, that’s right,” but she pauses again and hesitates. “Can you write it for me?” She asks, “I am not very good at writing this.”

“Sure,” I reply, “I can write the name of your painting, but it’s important to sign your work yourself.” She nods in agreement, and with an unsteady hand, signs her name.

‘Outside of my comfort zone’

Last fall, I did this every Friday morning. My painting partner was an adult artist at a local retirement community. Every Friday morning, since our first session together, I would ask her to sign and name her piece. Every time, she would hesitate, and sometimes, forget what she was doing.

The Class of 2019’s Joanne Chiao, who is pursuing a dual M.D./M.H.A.

My artist partner has early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia. For 10 Fridays every fall and spring, Art for the Journey, a nonprofit organization located in Richmond, Virginia, offers an abstract art program for adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia called Opening Minds through Art.

An evidence-based program founded by Elizabeth Lokon, Ph.D., at the Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University, Ohio, OMA aims to restore and maintain quality of life and function for adults experiencing neurocognitive decline. OMA trains young adult volunteers to assist adult artists to help facilitate an inter-generational abstract art-making session. As a volunteer, I do not make any decisions for the artist — I simply provide them the space, time and opportunity to be creative. In taking charge of their self-expression, the artists regain their autonomy, demonstrate their inner creativity, and gain a sense of emotional well-being and achievement.

At first, I found the sessions challenging. Her artwork often deviated from the assigned project and I worried that she would be unhappy with her work. At times, she was frustrated that the watercolors had turned muddy or that the masking tape failed to create the negative space that she intended. By far, what was most challenging was discussing her abstract artwork. As a person who struggles to see and analyze intangible patterns or grasp abstract concepts, commenting and giving feedback about abstract art placed me outside of my comfort zone.

But she did not give up on me. Every week she challenged me in interpreting her abstract paintings. She challenged me to see critically the pigments, shapes and shadows that I would easily overlook. And out from those colors, shapes and shadows, I began to see her feelings of achievement, well-being and peace. I came to embrace that it wasn’t about how close or realistic the final product was, but rather, how the unstructured and intangible interpretation of each art-making task healed and preserved her identity.

Hearing a patient’s symptoms vs. listening to their pain

A few months later, while I was shadowing clinic, a middle-aged woman sought help for excruciating chronic pain, numbness and tingling in her right leg. Each time she described her pain she would become overwhelmed and cry. At the conclusion of her interview, her doctor discussed his assessment, presented the advantages and disadvantages of her options, and gave her time to make a decision. What struck me the most about this encounter was how her pain affected her. Where previously, I would have honed in on the science, the clinical dilemma and its associated decision-making — I saw instead, a person’s frustration, their struggle with a chronic condition. I heard how distressing and debilitating the pain was. I heard, but, even more, saw, how that pain stole her autonomy, function, and above all, quality of life.

I never expected an artist to show me how the world of shapes, lines and colors could transfer to an improved ability to understand and appreciate how people interpret and see themselves — how each individual person perceives their health and disease. As a clinician-in-training, it is all too easy to only hear what relevant symptoms indicate what disease, rather than listening to how the symptoms are interpreted by patients. Painting with another person reminded me how important this is for future clinicians. It reminded me to take a step back, tune out the white noise of a bustling, fast-paced ambulatory clinic and dial in to the frame of the patient.

From the sessions, I made a friend who paints and illuminates her world like no other. Through the unique opportunity that I have had in working with Art for the Journey, I gained a better understanding of individuals struggling with dementia not as patients, but as people. On one hand, painting with another person showed how opportunities for artistic expression can rebuild confidence where broken, heal what was shattered and return to others their autonomy through decision making in their own art.

On the other hand, painting with another person has provided a new appreciation and awareness of the often overlooked, unseen, unheard part of a narrative. Who ever thought that a series of simple abstract art-making sessions could so profoundly influence and alter the fundamental way in which I approach interpersonal interactions and serve my future patients?

As clerkship director at VCU’s Department of Emergency Medicine, Nathan Lewis, M’09, H’12, works to foster an atmosphere where everyone — including Lewis — can be themselves. That is easier said than done, as many medical students do not naturally feel comfortable acknowledging they do not have every answer.

At the same time, that acknowledgment can be a critical first step toward asking questions and learning. With his signature humility, Lewis says the ability to put students at ease is his key gift as an educator.

“Myself along with other folks are trying to promote an environment where it’s a safe place for students to really challenge themselves,” Lewis says. “This gives them more experience and more confidence in what they are doing.”

If you ask why he is such a key part of introducing students to the specialty, he will tell you it is actually a group effort. Talk to his colleagues, though, and you find people who are eager to shine a light on Lewis’ singular talent for guiding medical students through the complex world of emergency medicine.

That talent is what earned Lewis — an assistant professor and director of the department’s clerkship for fourth-year medical students — recognition as Clerkship Director of the Year from the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine, an academy of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

“It’s quite an honor for something you see as your day-to-day job,” Lewis says. “I have terrific peers who supported me for the nomination. We wouldn’t be able to do the things we do without great support from the administration and the department. We put a focus on learning.”

Medical education is undoubtedly a team sport, but it’s one in which Lewis plays a valuable role, as colleagues are quick to point out.

“Nathan is incredibly dedicated,” says Joel Moll, M.D., an associate professor and director of the department’s residency program. “He’s meticulous and he’s a good advocate for education. He goes above and beyond but he’s kind of quiet about it.”

Proof of his success may be partially reflected in the growing number of VCU medical students who are going on to pursue residencies in emergency medicine. Emergency medicine is one of the most popular specialties at the School of Medicine and the nation as a whole. In the past five years since Lewis became clerkship director, emergency medicine has hovered in or around the top five most popular specialties. In 2018, 21 VCU medical students matched into emergency medicine residencies, making it the third-most popular specialty choice at the School of Medicine.

Even when other responsibilities hold the potential to shift his focus away from education, Lewis’ peers said he simply does not allow it to happen.

“We had someone leave for another job, and Dr. Lewis was running the coordination side as well as the education side, but the students never noticed,” Moll says. “He made sure things got done and he was willing to take on a lot. He’s going to do what is necessary to make a good experience for students.”

Lewis’ contributions to emergency medicine and medical education reach beyond the clerkship he directs. He also co-hosts EM Stud, a podcast for medical students around the country considering careers in emergency medicine.

“The podcast reaches a lot of students and it has a lot of visibility,” Moll says.

First and foremost, though, Lewis remains dedicated to the clerkship he directs — and the colleagues who help him make it happen. And if he ever needs someone to help him brag, well, they have his back for that too.

“He takes a personal approach to it and students really come to trust him,” Moll says. “He has helped countless students learn more about medicine. He’s an unsung hero, and now he’s getting recognition.”

At the medical school’s graduate student recognition ceremony earlier this spring, more than five dozen SOM-level awards and 18 departmental-level awards were presented.

On May 11, the Sanger Hall theater was full of graduating students, awardees, mentors, family and friends celebrating the scientific achievements of more than 50 graduate students.

“We’re proud of our students and always enjoy highlighting their accomplishments,” says Michael Grotewiel, Ph.D., the medical school’s interim associate dean for graduate education. “But this year was exceptional because we got to announce that seven students were nominated for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting – and two have been selected to attend!”

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is an annual gathering of Nobel Laureates and outstanding young scientists. This summer, M.D.-Ph.D. student Chelsea Cockburn and Katie Schwienteck, a Ph.D. candidate in Pharmacology and Toxicology, will attend along with 600 other students, doctoral candidates and post-docs from 84 countries. They will have the chance to interact with 43 Nobel Laureates – more than ever before.

At the medical school’s graduate student recognition ceremony, more than five dozen SOM-level awards and 18 departmental-level awards were presented.

More than two dozen graduate programs in the School of Medicine enrolled about 450 trainees in the 2017-18 academic year. Following the recognition ceremony, 166 students concluded their training with 38 earning doctoral degrees, 54 earning master’s and 74 earning a pre-med graduate health sciences certificate.

The honorees include:

Charles C. Clayton Award established in 1978 to reward outstanding rising second-year graduate students in the biomedical sciences in honor of Dr. Charles Clayton, who served as Professor of Biochemistry and Assistant Dean of the School of Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies. With his own research focused on the area of lipid biochemistry, Dr. Clayton was instrumental in developing the first doctoral programs at MCV. During World War II, the graduate programs had been suspended to devote the entire effort of the faculty to training health profession practitioners in a variety of accelerated programs. After the war he carried extensive teaching responsibilities in all of MCV’s health professions programs.
• Javeria Aijaz, Human and Molecular Genetics Ph.D. program
• Rose Bono, Master of Public Health program
• Nicholas Clayton, Physiology and Biophysics master’s program
• Sarah Dempsey, Pharmacology and Toxicology Ph.D. program
• Ellyn Dunbar, Human and Molecular Genetics master’s program
• Emily Godbout, Master of Public Health program
• Briana James, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ph.D. program
• Ajinkya Kawale, Molecular Biology and Genetics Ph.D. program
• Eric Kwong, Microbiology and Immunology Ph.D. program
• Pavel Lizhnyak, Neuroscience Ph.D. program
• Elizabeth Lowery, Epidemiology Ph.D. program
• Jean Moon, Pharmacology and Toxicology master’s program
• Christine Orndahl, Biostatistics Ph.D. program
• Rebecca Procopio, Genetic Counseling master’s program
• Sonja Volker, Biostatistics master’s program
• Lauryn Walker, Health Care Policy and Research Ph.D. program
• Jodi Winship, Social and Behavioral Science Ph.D. program

Daniel T. Watts Research Day is dedicated to the memory of Daniel T. Watts, a trailblazer in the world of basic health sciences and a nationally recognized pharmacologist who served as the dean of the VCU School of Basic Health Sciences and Graduate Studies and is credited with establishing the foundation of the research enterprise in basic health sciences at VCU.
• Outstanding Presentation, Sylvia Rozario, Master of Public Health program

Microbiology and Immunology’s Mary P. Coleman Award given in memory of the mother of Dr. Philip Coleman, a professor emeritus in the department, to a graduate student who has demonstrated extraordinary achievement in graduate studies and in research.
• Naren Kumar, Ph.D. program

Physiology and Biophysics’ Certificate of Recognition awarded to select students who display good character and a strong work ethic.
• Brian Ruiz, Physiology and Biophysics master’s program
• Justin Saunders, Physiology and Biophysics M.D.-Ph.D. program
• Jong Shin, Physiology and Biophysics master’s program

Physiology and Biophysics’ James Poland Award given in honor of Dr. James Poland who desired to establish a mechanism to recognize the accomplishments of master’s students.
• Om Evani, master’s program

Physiology and Biophysics’ Robert W. Ramsey Award given in honor and memory of Dr. Robert W. Ramsey, a distinguished muscle physiologist and the department’s first chair, presented to the most outstanding doctoral student in physiology.
• Ashley Bennett, Ph.D. program
• Teja Devarokonda, Ph.D. program

Master of Public Health’s Christopher “Kim” Buttery Award given in honor of the many contributions made by the Division of Epidemiology clinical professor who has been a tireless servant and promoter of public health to a graduating public health graduate student demonstrating excellence in chronic disease epidemiology and bridging research and public health practice.
• Joshua Montgomery, M.P.H. program

In fact, advocating for the world’s youngest citizens — those under the age of 5 — has been his consuming focus since retiring from his medical practice in 1994. And on April 27, he was honored for this work as the 2018 alumni inductee — and keynote speaker — at the School of Medicine’s Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society annual banquet and induction ceremony.

During his more-than-30-year career as a rheumatologist mostly focused on older adults, Blechman acknowledges, the developmental needs of young children were far from his professional concern.

In 1990, however, he assumed the role of president for Kiwanis International and in that position helped the organization select the focus for a new charitable initiative. Consultation with a wide range of experts led Blechman and the Kiwanis to understand the vital importance of the early-childhood years for brain development and lifelong health, well-being and success — and thus was born what would become Kiwanis International’s now-longstanding worldwide service program: Young Children Priority One. It was also the start of Blechman’s “second career,” as he sometimes refers to it, as an advocate on behalf of young children. Since that time, he has played an active role in a number of charitable and public organizations concerned with the well-being of young children.

At the AOA banquet, Blechman, sporting his signature bow tie, spoke to the gathering about the essential role that environment plays in early childhood. During this period, he explained, the brain undergoes tremendous growth, building neural connections at an astonishing rate. But in this time the brain is also uniquely affected — for good or for ill — by environment and experience. “There is tremendous input from the environment in the first few years of life,” he says.

Significantly, chronic stress caused by adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, family instability and exposure to violence or substance-use disorders can cause lasting harm to developing brains. That carries consequences for learning and behavior as well as mental and physical health that can reach across the lifespan. Children living in poverty are particularly vulnerable to being exposed to such adverse childhood experiences.

“There are communities in which you go 20 blocks and there is 10 years’ difference in life expectancy because of the difference of income in those 20 blocks,” Blechman says.

However, early intervention can make a difference — and the earlier, the better. “‘Zero to three’ is where it starts,” says Blechman, referencing the national nonprofit organization that operates under that name.

During this period of rapid brain development, providing resources — such as high-quality early childhood education or parenting support programs — that foster healthy development can help offset the negative consequences of adverse childhood experiences. Yet, pointing out that “in too many cases, we wait too long,” he called upon his audience to make this cause their own. “Let the legacy of this group be of activism for early childhood,” he concluded, “and we will all be better off for it.”

Blechman’s call to action was appropriately in the spirit of the occasion of the Alpha Omega Alpha induction ceremony. Founded in 1902, AOA is the only medical school honor society worldwide and seeks to recognize and perpetuate excellence in the medical profession. Membership in the society “confers recognition for a physician’s dedication to the profession and art of healing” that Blechman’s work has personified.

In addition to Blechman, 14 members of the medical school’s Class of 2018 and 19 members of the Class of 2019 were inducted into the School of Medicine’s Brown Sequard chapter of AOA, along with faculty members Gautham Kalahasty, M.D., and Vikram Brar, M’03, H’07, as well as housestaff Chris Young, M’16, Avinash Pillutla, M’15, and Hiba Alam, M.D.

Neil Rosenberg, M’78, and Ron Rosenberg, M’18, at a Chicago White Sox game in April 2018.

Ron Rosenberg, M’18, always knew he wanted to see a game in every Major League Baseball stadium. The lifelong baseball fan even found the perfect time to do it, plotting out a cross-country trip to 30 parks in 60 days between medical school and residency.

Along the way, the Chicago native discovered something special about his tour of America’s pastime. Turns out, it was about much more than baseball.

It was about helping others by raising money for Sportable, a Richmond, Virginia, nonprofit where Rosenberg volunteered during medical school. Sportable provides adaptive sports and recreation opportunities for athletes with physical and visual disabilities.

It was about family. Rosenberg’s love of all sports comes from his father and fellow alumnus Neil Rosenberg, M’78. In particular, his love of baseball — Chicago White Sox baseball — comes from his dad. It was their trip to Game 2 of the 2005 World Series and the game-winning, walk-off home run by White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik that sealed the younger Rosenberg’s White Sox fandom for life.

Lastly, the trip was about hospitality. Friends and family opened their homes to Rosenberg as he spent two months traveling across the country. Medical school friends joined him for the game in Baltimore. Fans from coast to coast welcomed him to their stadiums as he experienced the unique flavor (and flavors) each park had to offer.

At Marlins Park, Rosenberg’s first stop on the tour, Miami Marlins left-fielder Derek Dietrich even tossed him a ball in the stands between innings.

“That was the first MLB ball I’ve gotten in my life,” Rosenberg says. “He had no idea about my tour. It was totally random.”

If you’re a believer in baseball superstitions, this was a pretty good sign the tour was going to go well.

“The tour was a blast for so many reasons,” Rosenberg says.

He has raised nearly $3,000 for Sportable on his fundraising website … and counting. “It’s made the tour even more fun to combine it with raising money and awareness for Sportable,” Rosenberg says. “I wanted to support a local organization that could feel the impact.”

“The blue seat marks where Paul Konerko landed his unforgettable grand slam in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series, a game my pops took me to that is still the greatest sporting event I’ve ever attended,” Ron Rosenberg says.

Rosenberg will begin his residency in family medicine later this month at Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago. His father, a pulmonologist with Chicago’s Chest Medicine Consultants, points to his son’s Sportable fundraising as an indicator of what attracted him to the medical field.

“I think one of the reasons Ron went into medicine, and is going into family practice, is that he sees you can combine different interests in your career to use them in a positive way,” Neil Rosenberg says. “The idea he could take a passion and combine it with something that benefits the community, and brings awareness and financial support, is a good lesson to learn.”

Neil Rosenberg understands the value of exposure to new people and places. During the summer between his first and second year on the MCV Campus, he and classmate Charles Wilson, M’78, lived in Israel for one month, where Rosenberg worked in a kibbutz, or farm, traveled to Italy and Greece, and met his future wife.

“I always told the kids about the trip, how it’s where I met their mother, how it changed my life,” Rosenberg says. “It made me a better doctor and gave me a little perspective. It was my first time out of the country.” Rosenberg and his wife, Tamar, have four sons, including Ron.

“The most fun of being a parent is seeing your children develop differently and go through their life choices,” Rosenberg says. “You watch them grow, change, mature, make mistakes, change again. That’s the beauty of parenthood. You see everything.”

On April 21, Rosenberg joined his son on his tour for the White Sox game. The team lost 10-1 to the defending champion Houston Astros. But that was OK — it was about more than baseball.

“The only pictures that matter from my stop at the White Sox game are the ones with my dad, who took me to my first baseball game and tossed a ball with me as a kid,” Ron Rosenberg says.

He credits his father for helping him find his path, both in sports and medicine. “He helped me get to where I am today. I’m very thankful to have him.”

By Polly Roberts

]]>Dean Buckley advocates for expanded patient and physician access to investigational drugs and inclusion in clinical researchhttp://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/2018/06/dean-buckley-advocates-for-expanded-patient-and-physician-access-to-investigational-drugs-and-inclusion-in-clinical-research/
Tue, 05 Jun 2018 14:06:58 +0000http://wp.vcu.edu/somdiscoveries/?p=4191Continue reading →]]>As chair of Clinical Research Pathways’ board of directors, Peter F. Buckley, M.D., plays a leading role in the public charity’s mission to help desperately ill patients get expanded access to experimental treatments and increase minority participation in clinical trials.

“Our focus is on improving lives by opening access and advancing treatments,” says Buckley, who is dean of the VCU School of Medicine. He has served on the board of the organization since 2015.

Clinical Research Pathways helps physicians and institutional review boards streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access process to make it easier for desperately ill patients to try experimental medicines. The 501(c)(3) organization also works with government officials and drug development companies to make information about expanded access readily available to patients and their physicians.

The issue of access is receiving heightened attention with Congress’ recent passage of “right to try” legislation that has spurred debates over the best approach to providing terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs. Buckley and Clinical Research Pathways advocate for keeping the Food and Drug Administration as part of the process with the safeguards provided through its Expanded Access program.

“There is a great need to facilitate opportunities and access to novel treatments for patients with life-threatening health conditions,” says Buckley. “Clinical Research Pathways is strategically positioned to advocate for enhanced access.”

Clinical Research Pathways also seeks to increase opportunities for people to benefit from clinical research regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, age or gender. With its partners in healthcare, academia, government and industry, Clinical Research Pathways strives to increase diversity by reducing barriers to research participation and engagement.

Formerly known as WCG Foundation, the organization was established in 1968 when it pioneered independent ethical review via the creation of the Western Institutional Review Board, the nation’s first IRB.

Eric Freeman, M’02, returned to campus as the speaker at the medical school’s Second Look program.

For Eric Freeman, M’02, life is all about giving back.

“So many people gave their time, talent and treasure to mentor me and allow me to be successful. I believe that much of my success was because of my upbringing and I am around an outstanding family, my church and my community,” he says. “Now, my practice has become a ministry for me, and what better way to pay back those who helped me than to give back to my local community.”

In addition to running a busy private practice, Old Dominion Pediatrics in Richmond, Freeman volunteers with the Richmond Academy of Medicine and with the health ministry at his church, Providence Park Baptist.

He’s also committed to supporting the next generation of physicians.

That’s why he returned to the MCV Campus recently to share his experiences, learnings and advice with prospective medical students. The medical school’s Second Look program gives applicants who are members of underrepresented minorities a chance to explore the school’s programs in more depth. Each year, a weekend of activities is organized by the School of Medicine’s Office of Student Outreach, along with VCU’s chapters of the Student National Medical Association and Latino Medical Student Association. The weekend offers opportunities to interact with faculty and current students in a more relaxed atmosphere than the usual formal tours and interviews.

Freeman credits his family – his mother was a teacher, father a masonry contractor, and two aunts were physicians – for inspiring and encouraging him. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from the College of William & Mary, he found support in medical school from a variety of faculty members. He credits family medicine physician Michelle Whitehurst-Cook, M’79, now the senior associate dean for admissions, with keeping him grounded and treating him like family. Cheryl Al-Mateen, M.D., associate professor and child psychiatrist, taught him about the importance of mental health in children, something he spends a great deal of time addressing in his practice today. Linda Costanzo, Ph.D., professor emerita of physiology and biophysics, he said, was an amazing mentor and teacher. And the late Thomas Tucker, M.Ed., director of the Health Careers Opportunity Program at VCU, opened doors to the profession.

Freeman is proud of the education he received in the School of Medicine and is determined to continue the tradition of supporting others. “I think alumni have a responsibility to give back. The reason I am who I am is that there were so many people who took time with me to provide me knowledge and to give me a chance. I think that has made me a better person, a better pediatrician and a better physician.”

Donna Jackson, Ed D., assistant dean for admissions in the School of Medicine, has noticed Freeman’s commitment to others ever since he was a student on the MCV Campus.

“At VCU’s School of Medicine, service is important, and Dr. Freeman is one who got that idea,” Jackson says. “As a student, he always expressed a desire to serve in communities of need in Richmond and continued that when he returned to Richmond after residency to fulfill his life-long aspiration to practice in his hometown. Our current students can be inspired by Dr. Freeman’s journey to set goals that continually include service to others. Whether at home or in a new city or state, we want our students to give back. There is no better example of one giving back than Dr. Freeman.”

Freeman stresses that he’s just paying it forward. “It’s important to reach back and bring people along on the journey. That means a great deal to me.”

As part of that pledge, he assured Second Look participants that he would be available for students and residents alike looking for a mentor.

He also gave them some advice. “First of all, stay humble and stay hungry. People will want to help you and add to your life and to your worth. Also, when you’re humble, doors will open to you to guide you on your journey.”

The other thing, Freeman notes, is to be committed and to be consistent. He’s fond of a Denzel Washington quote: “Without commitment, you’ll never start, but more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish.”

Cardiac surgeon Jennifer Lawton, H’99, returned to the MCV Campus as the 2018 Brooks-Lower Visiting Professor and guest judge for the Department of Surgery’s research day.

The value the VCU School of Medicine has long placed on research impacted Jennifer Lawton, M.D., H’99, in a way she will never forget.

“I learned how to do it all here,” Lawton says. “The benefits of an environment like that can’t be underestimated. Without the training and time in the lab I put in here, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Today, she is the first woman to head the Johns Hopkins Division of Cardiac Surgery. She also serves as director of the Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory and program director for the cardiothoracic fellowship training program.

Lawton returned to the MCV Campus in April 2018 as the Brooks-Lower Visiting Professor and guest judge for the Department of Surgery’s research day. She spoke to the audience on the topic, “Why on earth would you want to be a surgeon-scientist?”

Most importantly, she says, it’s because surgeons can ultimately bring research to the bedside. “We are precisely the people who know the areas of need. We know the patients and the problems they face. We see it every day.”

Surgeon-scientists, she adds, will contend with critics who say they are either spending too much time on research or too much time in the operating room. Yet for her, it’s worth it to strive for the right mix. “I find it very invigorating to find those benefits for patients.”

Not to mention, points out Stuart McGuire Surgery Chair Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., there’s no question about Lawton’s success on both sides of the spectrum. “She is a great researcher and a great surgeon, and very well known in the profession. We were looking to bring in someone with significant interest in research and a practicing surgeon. She is outstanding.”

Lawton’s research interests include women and heart disease, and gender differences in cardiac surgery. As a funded surgeon-scientist, she studies protection of the heart muscle by examining the responses of isolated heart cells (myocytes) in response to stress and the role of a cardioprotective ion channel in the heart.

She has spent much of her career raising awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death for adult women in the U.S. through her advocacy as a leading authority with the American Heart Association.

The death of Lawton’s grandparents from heart disease led her to medicine. But in high school, she began to question her decision until her mother told her to “just try it and jump in. Everything is going to work out alright.”

The key, she adds, is having a champion in the workplace and at home.

The Brooks-Lower Grand Rounds Lecture is named for two beloved professors in the School of Medicine, James W. Brooks, M.D., and Richard R. Lower, M.D. While Lawton says she missed working with Lower by a few years, she trained in the research lab with technicians who had trained under the pioneering transplant physician. “He is responsible for so much of how heart transplants are performed today.

“I was fortunate to be here with Dr. Brooks, although I never rotated on thoracic,” she says. “But I had knowledge of his wardrobe habits,” describing his famous bow tie, hat, towel and stethoscope ensemble, much to the delight of the audience at the April lecture.

Lawton asked the crowd to help carry on Lower’s and Brooks’ legacies. “We need you. We need you to be role models to the next generation, especially women.”